Shoebox with $10,000 in cash found at Goodwill

A shoebox with more than $10,000 inside wound up at the Sunnyside Goodwill store Wednesday, and local Goodwill leaders are searching for its owner.

The store manager was sorting donated items when she discovered the money, said Gordon Comfort, executive director of Goodwill Industries of the Columbia.

To make a claim to the cash, call 735-7238.

Comfort said Goodwill will use the money to support its services if the owner can't be found.

He praised Chella Cardenas, the store manager, for immediately reporting the find. "I'm proud of her, her integrity. I think it's a reflection of her dedication to Goodwill and its mission," he said.

Comfort noted the Kennewick-based nonprofit regularly runs "integrity checks" in which it tracks a donation from the drop-off site to processing facility to make sure nothing goes missing. Goodwill workers never have failed a check, he said.

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